A THANKSGIVING-DAY DINNER 131 IN THE MIDST OF LIFE 145 OUTLINES IN LOCAL COLOR AN INTERVIEW WITH MISS MARLENSPUYK 161 A LETTER OF FAREWELL 175 A GLIMPSE OF THE UNDER WORLD 189 A WALL STREET WOOING 205 A SPRING FLOOD IN BROADWAY 225 THE VIGIL OF MCDOWELL SUTRO 241 AN IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT 263 THE SOLO ORCHESTRA 277 THE REHEARSAL OF THE NEW PLAY 295 A CANDLE IN THE PLATE 323 MEN AND WOMEN AND HORSES 337 IN THE WATCHES OF THE NIGHT 357 ILLUSTRATIONS People who thronged the floor were wellnigh as various as the paintings _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE Distracted by the crossing shouts of loud-voiced men 48 Two slim Japanese gentlemen 108 Coming from church 134 "Winifred!" he cried 234 "The air was thick and heavy" 278 Explanations 340 She almost shivered, the place seemed to her so cheerless 360 VIGNETTES OF MANHATTAN IN THE LITTLE CHURCH DOWN THE STREET The little church stands back from the street, with a scrap of lawn on either side of the path that winds from the iron gate to the church door. On this chill January morning the snow lay a foot deep on the grass-plots, with the water frozen out of it by the midnight wind. The small fountain on one side was sheathed with ice; and where its tiny spirtle fell a glittering stalagmite was rising rapidly, so the rotund sparrows had difficulty in getting at their usual drinking-trough. The sky was ashen, yet there was a hope that the sun might break out later in the morning. A sharp breeze blew down the street from the river, bearing with it, now and again, the tinkle of sleigh-bells from the Avenue, only fifty yards away.